IT'S FLYING COLORS FOR NEW RESTAURANT AT AIRPORT

The owner of the Landing Zone Grill at Mountain Meadows Airport is on Cloud Nine these days now that a permit to serve beer has helped fill his tables and kept his saute pan sizzlin'.

Owner and chef Joseph Furnari, called "Cajun Joe" by some regulars, said times were tough before the beer permit was granted last month, but since he installed the neon beer lights, the restaurant at the airport on the Harwinton-Burlington town line has been filling up.

"I took a beating, it caused a lot of nerves and a lot of stress," Furnari said of the period between when he opened in November and when business picked up. "But things are turning around little by little by little."

Furnari, 32, is a graduate of the Connecticut Culinary Institute. A former architect, he is a Burlington native and a graduate of Lewis S. Mills High School. He worked stints at several restaurants in Connecticut and on the West Coast.

His menu has several divergent themes, from Southwest-style quesadillas to blackened Cajun burgers and northern Italian dishes. There are also local interpretations of classic diner fare, like a "Johnnycake Mountain of pancakes," referring to the old name of the small airport where the restaurant is. It continues to be the name of the neighborhood.

Fresh ingredients will be the key to his success, Furnari said. He spends long mornings making fresh soup stocks and sauces and chopping vegetables for each day's dishes.

"I don't use any boullion, you can search the place," he joked, referring to the dried flavor cubes he said no self-respecting chef could use.

Furnari said he picked the airport site, which he began rehabilitating last August, because there are no restaurants like his between Hartford and Litchfield.

"There's a market for this kind of food in the area," Furnari said. "The only place you can get comparable food, for what it is, is Hartford, Litchfield or Avon."

But even with fresh flowers on the tables, the dining room has more of a road-house atmosphere. Furnari admits this.

"There are some rough edges," he said, but that may change. He plans to spiff up the interior.

The restaurant caters to the pilots who use the airport, a flight log on the wall encourages patrons to sign when they've visited and where they are from. The dining room also has a mural on all four walls showing planes and local scenery. Furnari plans to add an L-shaped outdoor patio before this summer and to have occasional live entertainment.

A recent lunch customer, who also takes cooking classes from Furnari, said the Landing Zone Grill is great for families, too.

"My favorite part about coming here is I have kids, and they're very particular," said Tracy Krasiejko , from Burlington. "He'll always accommodate your tastes."